Yesterday I had my first set of skill dives for NAUI Tech1(Intro to tech and heliotrox). We were at a local lake with air temps in the low 50's and water temps of about 64-66 depending on whose comp you went by. Evrything as far as gearing up and getting set up went fine. We all took our time and got a good safety briefing prior to getting in the water. Was wearing my OS trilam suit with both sets of undergarments. LP85's, DSS doubles rig with 50 lb bladder and hog harness. SS plate with no ditchable weight on the belt. A chain of events began when I got into the water, went to put on my fins and fell backwards. DId not go under as I had some air in the suit and wing but could not get upright. It was at this point I realized I should have put my mask and hood on and reg in my mouth before putting on the fins. Had I done this I simply could have dumped air, rolled over and got upright. As it was I spent a minute trying to get up as I was floating away from the group in the light current that is in this lake. I realized then that the only way to get up was to maneuver closer to shore, grab an overhanging tree branch, get upright and while using the branch as a stablizer get it together. This I did and got back to the group SLIGHTLY winded(or so I thought) to hear the briefing as to what we were going to do.
The first exercise was going to be a 50 or so yard surface swim to a buoy, descend horizontally, and once on the platform simulate an oxtox rescue. Ok. swim out was more tiring than I expected but I was still ok. Oh after the rescue we were to tow our buddy back in to the starting point. Descent to the platform went very well, stopped as instructed at 10 ft 20 ft and then hovering at 24 one foot above the platform. At this point my buddy went into convulsions. I got him from the back and held him there until the convulsions stopped. At this point I was to bring him to the surface. Now here is where another thing happened that I was not expecting. In my PADI rescue class I was taught to use the vic inflator to bring him up. In a technical configuration I learned the hard way that it is better to use mine and not put air into his until we hit the surface. At about 15 ft we got into an uncontrolled ascent and I let go of him and came up way too fast. My suit could not vent fast enough and coupled with the air in his wing and suit I was propelled rapidly upward. I broke the surface and was ok but since the exercise was a bust it needed to be repeated. Now I was tired. After resting for a minute We descended again and this time I brought him up text book perfect. Now I had to tow him back in. It seems prudent to mention now that my buddy was finishing and polishing some skills for his full trimix cert. As a result he was carrying his double 108's as well as an al80 stage and al 40 stage ox bottle. This made for ALOT of drag. About half way in I could not catch my breath. My neck seal felt too tight, the reg was not delivering enough air, and I was trying to get more air in through my nose. With a mask on this is not possible. I pulled the mask off, then my hood which now was feeling like a vise and tried to gulp some air down. At this point a small wave blew some water in my face and down my throat and up my nose. I spit it out and immediately realized that I was about to make a bad situation worse as I knew what was next was panic. It had already started when I pulled the mask off. I immediately froze, stopped thrashing around, located my buddy and told him I needed help.
He was at my side in an instant, signalled some of our group who was on the surface that we needed help and that this was not a drill. He had to yell two or three times due to the wind and hoods that everyone was wearing. The first to reach us was a guy whose name I have to get because it was his first ow dives after being certed last week! Soon another got to us and I informed them that I had really overexerted my self and could not get enough air. It was a textbook rescue. They slipped me out of my harness, and as they towed me to the boat launch got my fins off and by the time we reached shore I had relaxed enough to get my breathing under control and walked out under my own power with two guys beside me going over the standard questions and exam protocalls to determine I was indeed ok. I told one of them I was ok and it wasn't really necessary. His response was what would you do. I shut up and let them do what they needed to. After about 10 minutes I had fully recovered and was ready for the next set of skills on the next dive.
I did the next set of dives which involved 100 ft swim underwater while sharing air, 100 ft swim sharing air with no mask, more buoyancy drills, and finally shooting my bag from 50 ft and doing simulated deco stops every 10 ft while drifting in the mild current. Everything on this dive went like clockwork. It was a great confidence builder and even my instructor remarked how good my trim, and buoyancy skills were on this dive. I'll post later about things I was worried about happening that didn't and how much I love diving doubles.
Analysis: Number 1. Changing how I geared up could have avoided the intial way I got overexerted
Number 2: Most of this could have been avoided had I asked for help immediately getting upright before the dive started.
Number 3: I should have taken more time to recover from number one.
Number 4: The surface swim out was slightly against the current so it could have been done more slowly.
Number5: After the rapid ascent should have spent more time on the surface recovering.
Number6: When we ascended the second time and started the tow it was also perpendicular to the current. I was trying too hard to get him in and should have taken more time. Also in a real scenario I would have ditched his stages to minimize the drag and made it easier. I was the smallest guy there and was also the only one who had to tow someone with that much gear on. Not that it makes a difference because it could happen again in a real life situation but in a real life there are some things that could or would have been done differently.
Number 7: Most importantly I learned that my self rescue skills are still good but need improvement. I was able to recover and get it together because I recognized there was a problem and asked for help. Could have done it sooner but this is a lesson I'll not forget. All in all it was a great day and I'm lookin forward to the next set of skills dive day. Thoughts?
The first exercise was going to be a 50 or so yard surface swim to a buoy, descend horizontally, and once on the platform simulate an oxtox rescue. Ok. swim out was more tiring than I expected but I was still ok. Oh after the rescue we were to tow our buddy back in to the starting point. Descent to the platform went very well, stopped as instructed at 10 ft 20 ft and then hovering at 24 one foot above the platform. At this point my buddy went into convulsions. I got him from the back and held him there until the convulsions stopped. At this point I was to bring him to the surface. Now here is where another thing happened that I was not expecting. In my PADI rescue class I was taught to use the vic inflator to bring him up. In a technical configuration I learned the hard way that it is better to use mine and not put air into his until we hit the surface. At about 15 ft we got into an uncontrolled ascent and I let go of him and came up way too fast. My suit could not vent fast enough and coupled with the air in his wing and suit I was propelled rapidly upward. I broke the surface and was ok but since the exercise was a bust it needed to be repeated. Now I was tired. After resting for a minute We descended again and this time I brought him up text book perfect. Now I had to tow him back in. It seems prudent to mention now that my buddy was finishing and polishing some skills for his full trimix cert. As a result he was carrying his double 108's as well as an al80 stage and al 40 stage ox bottle. This made for ALOT of drag. About half way in I could not catch my breath. My neck seal felt too tight, the reg was not delivering enough air, and I was trying to get more air in through my nose. With a mask on this is not possible. I pulled the mask off, then my hood which now was feeling like a vise and tried to gulp some air down. At this point a small wave blew some water in my face and down my throat and up my nose. I spit it out and immediately realized that I was about to make a bad situation worse as I knew what was next was panic. It had already started when I pulled the mask off. I immediately froze, stopped thrashing around, located my buddy and told him I needed help.
He was at my side in an instant, signalled some of our group who was on the surface that we needed help and that this was not a drill. He had to yell two or three times due to the wind and hoods that everyone was wearing. The first to reach us was a guy whose name I have to get because it was his first ow dives after being certed last week! Soon another got to us and I informed them that I had really overexerted my self and could not get enough air. It was a textbook rescue. They slipped me out of my harness, and as they towed me to the boat launch got my fins off and by the time we reached shore I had relaxed enough to get my breathing under control and walked out under my own power with two guys beside me going over the standard questions and exam protocalls to determine I was indeed ok. I told one of them I was ok and it wasn't really necessary. His response was what would you do. I shut up and let them do what they needed to. After about 10 minutes I had fully recovered and was ready for the next set of skills on the next dive.
I did the next set of dives which involved 100 ft swim underwater while sharing air, 100 ft swim sharing air with no mask, more buoyancy drills, and finally shooting my bag from 50 ft and doing simulated deco stops every 10 ft while drifting in the mild current. Everything on this dive went like clockwork. It was a great confidence builder and even my instructor remarked how good my trim, and buoyancy skills were on this dive. I'll post later about things I was worried about happening that didn't and how much I love diving doubles.
Analysis: Number 1. Changing how I geared up could have avoided the intial way I got overexerted
Number 2: Most of this could have been avoided had I asked for help immediately getting upright before the dive started.
Number 3: I should have taken more time to recover from number one.
Number 4: The surface swim out was slightly against the current so it could have been done more slowly.
Number5: After the rapid ascent should have spent more time on the surface recovering.
Number6: When we ascended the second time and started the tow it was also perpendicular to the current. I was trying too hard to get him in and should have taken more time. Also in a real scenario I would have ditched his stages to minimize the drag and made it easier. I was the smallest guy there and was also the only one who had to tow someone with that much gear on. Not that it makes a difference because it could happen again in a real life situation but in a real life there are some things that could or would have been done differently.
Number 7: Most importantly I learned that my self rescue skills are still good but need improvement. I was able to recover and get it together because I recognized there was a problem and asked for help. Could have done it sooner but this is a lesson I'll not forget. All in all it was a great day and I'm lookin forward to the next set of skills dive day. Thoughts?
